Ricky Nelson was a big and beloved name in the industry, where his musical talent made him a teen idol in 50s and 60s.
In 1963, Nelson married Kristin Harmon. They welcomed four children, Tracy, twins Matthew and Gunnar and the youngest one, Sam.
Sadly, they got divorced after Kristin’s struggle with drug abuse, in 1982. They spent two decades together, and ended their marriage with a “vitriolic” divorce.
Nelson remained his children’s life while Kristin kept struggled with addiction. Kristin passed away in 2018, due to a heart attack.
Tracy talked about her mother’s passing, and wrote, “A force. A reckoning. Artist, first, always. Anarchist, bohemian, beauty. Hurricane Kris. No one could blow the house down like she could. And no one could make something out of nothing like she could.”
On the 31st of December, 1985, Ricky passed away when DC-3 plane crashed while on the flight to New Year’s Eve concert in Dallas, Texas. His fiance and five of his band members perished in the plane crash.
The pilot and the co-pilot were the only survivors of the crash.
When the twins were 18, they followed Nelson’s footsteps and started their musical career.
The twins were supposed to fly with their father, but a day before the flight, Nelson changed his mind. Gunnar said, “[…] He sounded strange — not the way he normally sounded. And he said, ‘You know, boys, I was just thinking…I want you guys to fly to Dallas directly, commercial, and meet me there.'”
“Our dad was such an affable guy that when he was sounding like that, we both knew that it wasn’t the time to argue.”
They learned their father’s passing from a radio station.
“[…] And the DJ came on after a long pause on the last note of ‘Garden Party’ and said, ‘This has been a tribute to Rick Nelson, who was killed with his band […]'”
While people thought that the twins were rich, “We were like the poor kids in the rich neighborhood. Our dad died, and unfortunately, the truth was, he was over $4 million in debt, and we spent years paying that back,” Matthew said.
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